Apple to Keep Building Mac Pro in U.S. After Securing Tariff Relief

Apple Inc. AAPL 0.45% said it is keeping production of its new Mac Pro in Texas, reversing earlier plans to shift assembly of the computer to China.

The decision follows the Trump administration’s move last week to grant tariff exemptions on 10 items Apple imports from China. The exclusions for components, including a power supply and a logic board, cover a period from September of last year to August 2020, and the U.S. will refund tariffs already paid.

The tech giant had earlier tapped Taiwanese contractor Quanta Computer Inc. to assemble the nearly $6,000 desktop computer outside Shanghai. The high-end computer, which was introduced in 2013, had been assembled in Austin, Texas, by contractor Flex Ltd. and was touted as Apple’s only Made in USA product.

“We thank the administration for their support enabling this opportunity,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, in a statement Monday.

A representative from Flex couldn’t be reached for comment.Escalating trade tensions over the summer challenged Apple’s plans to make the product in China, where labor and logistics costs are lower than in the U.S. In August, President Trump said he planned to extend tariffs of 10% to essentially all Chinese imports in December and raise tariffs on items already subject to duties. The tariffs could have cut into Apple’s profits or forced it to increase the cost of the Mac Pro.